


Komorebi

by starryming



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Awkward Dates, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Mental Breakdown, MinWon - Freeform, Mingyu centered, Mingyu has no idea why, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Wonwoo hates Mingyu, meanie, other mental health issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryming/pseuds/starryming
Summary: The last person Mingyu wants in his pathetic life is his sworn enemy, Jeon Wonwoo.Wonwoo decides otherwise.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 13
Kudos: 57





	1. blue hoodie

**Author's Note:**

> first meanie fic, fingers crossed. hope you guys like it :)  
> also!! meaning of the title:  
> Komorebi [木漏れ日]-  
> the effect of sunlight streaming through the leaves of the trees

No no no no, Mingyu couldn’t be late for the first day of his favorite class.

 _First impression._ Mingyu thought as the snow crunched beneath his sneakers as he ran. He wasn’t ready to make his tardiness the professor’s first impression of him. What if he assumed Mingyu was irresponsible and made the semester hell? The semester filled with classes Mingyu begged his father to take. He can’t be late, it simply wasn’t an option.

The wind picked up and blew Mingyu’s hair off his forehead, sending chills through his hoodie. He still had five minutes till he got to the classroom, he just had to bear the chattering of his teeth. Mingyu had expected winter to be over a few weeks ago, but nature seemed to have other plans when he’d walked out into two inches of snow, and immediately regretted wearing just a hoodie and plain black jeans.

The campus was mostly empty considering the cold but he spotted the occasional couple, holding warm cups of coffee in one hand and holding hands with their other. Mingyu would do anything for a hot cup of anything right now, but all his thoughts vanished as he entered the art building. Mingyu quickly navigated his way to the class and halted in front of class number 506. He glanced at his phone as he entered the already bustling room. He was right in time, he figured as he looked up and noticed that the professor had yet to arrive.

There were a few familiar faces among the students and as Mingyu scanned the rows for an empty seat some even waved at him. None of his friends were taking the class so this would be a new start with maybe even new friendships. Mingyu’s eyes finally landed on the one empty seat and looked to see who was sitting next to it as he made his way up. But all his thoughts and excitement for the photography class disappeared from his head as he noticed Jeon Wonwoo glaring right at him from the seat next to the empty spot.

No. There was no way he could take this class now. No, he had to leave. Screw the months of begging it took to ask permission from his dad to take this class. He would never take a class with Jeon Wonwoo in it. It didn’t take Mingyu long to realize that no matter how good of an impression he made on the professor, his life was already set to be hell because of the boy staring at him. Mingyu didn’t even hesitate as he swirled around on his feet to leave the room.

“Mingyu, so nice to see you here,” a voice said from the doorway just as he was about to step out. He looked up to find the owner of the voice and met the pretty face of Yoon Jeonghan.

“Hyung, hey. I didn’t know you were going to take this class,” Mingyu asked inquisitively, even though he really wanted to ask the man to move so he could get out of there. He didn’t know how long he could stand the feeling of Wonwoo’s eyes boring into his back. He just clutched his bag nervously.

“Oh, no. I already took it in my first year. I’m the teaching assistant this time.” Jeonghan said tucking his front hair behind his ear. “You don’t know how happy I was to see your name on the class register. Finally putting that talent into use I see.”

No, he had to leave. Fuck his talent and fuck Jeon Wonwoo. But Jeonghan was staring at him excitedly and proud, so Mingyu just nodded and remained standing. Jeonghan gestured to the class behind and began pushing Mingyu through the aisle between the rows of seats. No, god no. But there he was once again, standing in front of Jeon Wonwoo. Jeonghan went back to the front of the class and began introducing himself, the class quieting down at his voice.

Wonwoo glared at Mingyu and then looked away towards Jeonghan in the front. Mingyu quickly dropped his bag next to his seat and plopped down. At least the seat was an aisle seat so he could run out of there the moment the class was dismissed. Maybe he was just overreacting. Maybe if he just stayed out of Wonwoo’s radar he could go through the class successfully. But Mingyu could feel the irritation radiating from Wonwoo and Mingyu was trying his best to not even breathe loud.

Jeonghan was talking about the books required and was checking how many materials the class needed when a voice whispered to Mingyu. He turned to his left avoiding looking at Wonwoo and looked past him to find Soonyoung grinning at him.

“Mingyu, I didn’t know you were taking this class!” Soonyoung said in an excited whisper and Mingyu couldn’t help grinning back at the smiling boy.

Soonyoung glanced at Wonwoo and then back to Mingyu and his smile faltered slightly. Most probably because it was the first time anyone had seen the infamous campus enemies in the same class let alone sitting right next to each other.

“Yeah, I’m doing a lot of photography classes this semester,” Mingyu said trying to ignore the rising tension.

“That’s nice. How was your winter break?” Soonyoung asked and Mingyu’s first instinct was to frown. But he offered a soft smile instead.

“It was pretty boring, but lots of time to relax.” Mingyu lied. “What about you?”

Before Soonyoung could answer Wonwoo groaned in between them. Mingyu rolled his eyes in response.

“Can you guys shut up, nobody cares,” Wonwoo said and Mingyu almost held his breath from hearing the boy’s deep voice after a long time.

“Come on Wonwoo, Mingyu’s my friend.” Soonyoung frowned at his best friend.

“Again, nobody cares,” Wonwoo said and didn’t even bother looking at Mingyu.

Mingyu scoffed noticeably and turned back around to stare at the blackboard where Jeonghan was writing down numbers. Mingyu only had one rule in this class and it was to not punch Wonwoo square in the face.

“We’ll talk later Mingyu,” Soonyoung whispered apologetically. Mingyu offered an understanding smile to the boy who was stuck between their hatred.

Just half an hour left until Mingyu could get rid of Wonwoo’s presence around him. Till then he just had to clench his teeth and fists and pay attention to the class. And this was just the first day of the semester.

* * *

“Is your dad still angry?” Jihoon asked, grabbing a straw from Joohyun’s tray.

“The old man needs to go on a vacation or something and just relax.” The girl said as she handed Jihoon his burger. She placed an identical one in front of Mingyu.

Mingyu sighed and leaned back in his seat, stretching his long legs in front of him.

“Well, he’s a little annoyed by my choice of classes this semester but otherwise, I think he’s over my grades,” Mingyu said. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

His best friends had offered to buy him lunch after they’d heard about Mingyu and Wonwoo being in the same class. The news had spread so fast that Mingyu hadn’t even left the class before he received messages from the two asking if he’s okay.

“No offense but he has to be a psychopath to be disappointed in you with the grades you get. I’m surprised my parents didn’t disown me after seeing mine. Honestly, I think you should just tell him to suck it and walk out.” Jihoon said, earning a knock on his head from Joohyun.

“It’s not that easy,” she said. “I am surprised though, I didn’t expect your grade to drop that low because of one project.”

Mingyu opened his eyes and reached over to the fries. As he shoved them in his mouth he sighed again.

“You keep sighing like a grandpa, are you really okay?” Joohyun asked and Mingyu nodded.

“You wanna know what’s worse,” he said sitting up, annoyance rising in his tone. He didn’t want to talk about his dad anymore and the only other thing he could think of was Wonwoo. “The seats that we sat in today are going to be permanent. Who has assigned seats anymore???”

“I’m sure you can ask Jeonghan Hyung to change it,” Jihoon said, sipping from his drink.

“The professor decided it, it’s useless talking to him,” Mingyu said whining.

Joohyun reached over and patted Mingyu’s head as he sank into his seat.

“Don’t worry about it Gyu, just ignore him the whole semester.” She said with a frown on her face.

“I doubt that will work. I mean, he hates me for no reason at all. So he’ll probably murder me for breathing next to him.” Mingyu pouted.

“Are you sure you’ve never met him before you started here?” Jihoon asked.

“I’m telling you, he’s a complete stranger. I’ve never even heard of the name Wonwoo before last year.” Mingyu whined again.

It was true. Mingyu had joined the university with extremely high hopes. Mainly because he knew the university had a photography course. But the last thing Mingyu had expected was to make an enemy on his second day. And what triggered him further was the fact that Wonwoo had no reason to hate him at all. They’d only spoken once and it had just been bland introductions. But ever since the other boy had heard that his name was Kim Mingyu, he had set out to sabotage Mingyu.

If anything Mingyu had wanted to be friends with the handsome senior. But if Wonwoo was hell-bent on humiliating Mingyu, he wouldn’t be nice to the other boy either. And he didn’t care how messy it would become. Wonwoo had made it a mess, to begin with.

“So how are your classes going?” Mingyu asked, glancing at his phone to check the time. He clearly wanted to change his mind and think of something else before going to work.

“That annoying dude started pestering me to hang out again,” Jihoon said with a sigh.

“Who, Soonyoung?” Joohyun asked to which Jihoon nodded.

Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Wonwoo were in the same year and Soonyoung was trying to go around and recruit everyone to join his friend group. And as a dance major, when he found out Jihoon was learning to produce music he had instantly become Soonyoung’s primary target.

Mingyu found it amusing and didn’t mind Soonyoung because he was awfully nice and didn’t care about Wonwoo’s hatred with Mingyu. Jihoon however was the polar opposite of Soonyoung. But Mingyu knew if Jihoon _really_ didn’t like Soonyoung then he wouldn’t let him come anywhere close. So Jihoon tolerated Soonyoung held some meaning after all.

“He wanted to hang out later, maybe we should all grab lunch with him someday,” Mingyu said.

Jihoon just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, let’s make this semester livelier. He’s fun.” Joohyun said mostly to herself.

Maybe Mingyu was just overthinking. If he just stayed out of Wonwoo’s business then he could get through the semester easily.

* * *

Mingyu placed the last book on the shelf and walked back to the main desk. Thankfully there weren’t too many returned books to put back so he could just sit for the rest of the day.

Getting a job at the university library was the most luck Mingyu had ever had. Everybody wanted the job because of how easy it was. Just check out the books for the students and put the returned book back on the shelves. And because of how rarely people came to the library it was mostly quiet and Mingyu could do other work.

But that also meant more room for thinking which Mingyu didn’t exactly love.

Mingyu heard thumping on his way back and turned to find someone kicking at the vending machine. It was probably stuck again. The person was bent over, trying to get a bag of chips that had gotten caught on a hook. Mingyu made his way over to help.

“Here I can help you out,” Mingyu said and the last person he was expecting to turn around was Wonwoo. They both looked at each other equally surprised.

Mingyu expected another snarky comment about how he didn’t need anyone’s help but to his surprise, Wonwoo just moved aside. Mingyu quickly looked away and walked over to the side of the machine.

He angled himself and kicked the machine once and the bag of chips dropped into the bottom. Wonwoo quickly reached down and pulled it out.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, pushing his glasses up and began walking away.

“Wait,” Mingyu said. He hadn’t seen Wonwoo actually put in any money and if he just helped Wonwoo get a free bag of chips, his manager would screw him over. Wonwoo stopped in his tracks and turned around, his face back to his cold demeanor as he looked Mingyu in the eyes.

“You did pay for that right?” Mingyu asked, his eyes slightly wide. He was unsure of how to phrase it.

“You’re kidding right?” Wonwoo scoffed. “Do I look like a thief to you?”

Mingyu immediately regretted saying anything. He hated Wonwoo’s attitude so much and didn’t like being on the receiving end of it.

“Right, sorry,” Mingyu mumbled, walking past him to the front desk. He felt Wonwoo’s eyes on him as he sat down and stared at the door.

Mingyu saw Wonwoo going to an obscure bookshelf and sitting on the floor with his backpack from his side vision and silently hoped Wonwoo would choke on a chip or two.

He spent another solid ten minutes staring at the door listening to the silent wrinkling of Wonwoo eating and pages being flipped by another group of kids studying. Thankfully it seemed like Wonwoo wanted to stay out of Mingyu’s business too and there was something about it that calmed Mingyu. Hopefully, one less thing to worry about.

“Hi,” A voice said from in front of him and Mingyu looked up to find a girl looking at him with a smile.

It wasn’t just any girl. Mingyu knew her. She was one of the prettiest girls in the entire university and he understood why people swooned considering the smile on her face. But he mainly knew her because he knew Joohyun had a massive crush on her.

“Seulgi, hi,” Mingyu said smiling back. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Yeah, I’m trying to find a book I saw on the library website but it doesn’t tell me which aisle.” She said a small frown on her face.

“Which book is it?” He asked, getting up and going around the counter to glance at the picture of the book on the phone.

“It’s called Fingersmith,” she said, leaning in to show Mingyu the phone.

“Oh yeah, we have that here,” Mingyu said, thinking for a second where he kept it. Joohyun had just returned it so he remembered. “Follow me.”

Before he realized he was standing in the obscure aisle between the bookshelves where Wonwoo was sitting. He looked up and glanced at Mingyu before waving and smiling at Seulgi. Mingyu couldn’t stop looking at him. He knew the man was handsome but. . . he had never seen him smile. Even a casual smile. The only reason Mingyu was surprised was because of how _insanely_ good a smile looked on Wonwoo’s face. His nose scrunched slightly and his face lit up brighter than Mingyu had ever considered possible on the other’s face. The smile disappeared when Wonwoo turned back to look at him and then back at the book he was reading.

“Right, it’s over here,” Mingyu said turning away, his ears heating up. “You know, Joohyun read this a few days ago.”

Seulgi’s face reddened quickly and she looked. . . surprised.

“She did?” She asked and quickly shook her surprise away when Mingyu looked at her questioningly.

Mingyu had no idea what the book was about but he decided to note her reaction and tell Joohyun later.

“Do you need anything else?”Mingyu asked.

“No, I’ll check out in a bit, thank you.” She said and smiled at him.

Mingyu grinned back and nodded. He could feel Wonwoo’s eyes on him and he almost shuddered at the feeling. But instead of looking back at him he just walked back to the front desk and sat down.

He watched as Seulgi sat down next to Wonwoo on the floor. Wonwoo pulled off his jacket and gave it to her to cover her legs and she smiled back gratefully and patted his head. He almost looked like a younger brother to her. And God, the way he smiled pissed Mingyu off to the core. Not because it looked bad but because Mingyu had no idea what he did that was so wrong that Wonwoo always looked at him so annoyed and had never smiled at _him_.

God, _everything_ pissed him off. Especially that fucking nose scrunch.

All Mingyu wanted right now was something to distract him. Like a godsend, a text message popped up on his lock screen. It was his sister. Mingyu smiled a little because he missed her and was glad she even remembered to text him.

**Minseo★**

>I’m making bracelets, what do you think( _5:58 PM)_

Mingyu clicked on the image attachment and found an assortment of beads strewn across what he recognized to be his sister’s bedroom floor. In the center of a picture was a string of brightly colored red and yellow beads tied into a perfect circle. Various charms hung from between the beads and Mingyu smiled a little more as he noticed they spelled out M I N S E O.

**Mingyu**

>I’ll only tell you what I think if you make me one. I want black and blue ;)( _5:59 PM)_

She only sends a rolling eyes emoji followed by a thumbs up in response. Mingyu _really_ misses his sister. He should visit his family again sometime. He did miss his mom’s cooking and his sister’s nagging. He’d just have to tolerate his dad’s lecturing and utter looks of disappointment. It was no surprise how awful Christmas had gone with his family when he had told his dad about his grades. Winter break had instantly been ruined for him. His dad had pressured him relentlessly about how terrible the rest of his life would be if he ever got grades like that again. He hadn’t even given Mingyu a chance to explain why all his grades were perfect except for one class.

Mingyu almost jumped when a stack of books thumped on the tabletop.

“If only I was paid to giggle at my phone all day,” Wonwoo said sarcastically from behind the stack of books, and the smile on Mingyu’s face disappeared. Mingyu just had to focus on the fact that he was working right now and couldn’t kick Wonwoo.

“Ready to check out?” Mingyu asked in the most monotone voice he could summon. Wonwoo stared right back at him. Mingyu refrained from the urge to roll his eyes and instead said, “Can I have your ID number and last name?”

“970604, Jeon.” He replied, sounding bored almost.

Mingyu punched the numbers into the computer and silently started scanning the books through the register and placing them on his other side. He never expected Wonwoo to be the type to read but maybe he was wrong considering the number of books Wonwoo had stacked up. Maybe he really was into literature considering the number of fancy poetry books he’d picked out. When he was finally done he pulled out a slip and wrote down some dates.

“The books are due in two weeks, here’s a bookmark for reminders,” Mingyu said as Wonwoo idly scrolled through his phone.

Wonwoo sighed and grabbed the books in his hands, shoving his phone into his pocket. He stood there for a second and looked like he was hesitating to say something. Instead, he just grabbed the bookmark and turned around. But on his way out he turned around for a brief second and Mingyu looked at him questioningly but also annoyed. Wonwoo decided otherwise and walked out, disappearing from Mingyu’s line of sight.

Mingyu stared at the door a little longer and just shook his head to clear his mind. Was he going to ask Mingyu something? Whatever it was made him uneasy because Mingyu had seen no anger or annoyance in the boy's eyes. Instead, for a split second, he had seen the boy's eyes soften and Wonwoo had never looked at Mingyu that way. Something was different about Wonwoo this semester and Mingyu couldn’t place his finger on it. Wonwoo seemed to have reined in the hate a little and Mingyu wondered why. If it had anything to do with their last conversation before winter break, Mingyu didn’t know how he’d feel. If Wonwoo was doing this out of pity then Mingyu would hate him even more for that. He’d rather Wonwoo berate him with annoyance than pity Mingyu’s pathetic.

Mingyu needed distraction again so he pulled out his notebook from his bag to do his homework. One page in and his mind kept losing focus. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if they were friends and never started on hate. Would it be any different? Would Wonwoo actually smile at him? Would Mingyu be able to ask Wonwoo where he got the blue hoodie he was wearing because god, it looked so comfortable and pretty?

Would Wonwoo always look at him with those soft eyes?


	2. vanilla scented blankets

“Really think about it okay. Humans have only explored a tiny, teeny weeny bit of space and you’re going to tell me we’re the only living creatures in the universe?” Mingyu said staring at the ceiling.

“Sounds like a deep conversation,” Jihoon said as he walked to the fridge, kicking Mingyu’s hand on the floor.

“I think it makes sense,” Hansol said from beside him and Mingyu felt happy at the agreement.

Jihoon had been hanging out at Mingyu’s place since earlier in the day until Hansol came over and begged Mingyu to bake brownies for his girlfriend’s birthday. Mingyu realized soon enough why the boy had to ask for help considering just how terrible he was at baking. But after the struggle, the brownies were in the oven and the two were lying down on the kitchen floor staring at the ceiling and waiting for the brownies to bake. Jihoon was working on a project and chimed in occasionally to call them lame or stupid.

Mingyu didn’t mind spending his entire weekend at home considering how tiring the past week of classes had been. He already had two projects to work on and the only place he could work on it was in the library. But that was ruined quickly after he realized Wonwoo spent nearly the entire day in the library. Mingyu wasn’t complaining because the other surprisingly minded his own business instead of constantly pushing Mingyu to the edge. But it was more of his fault that he couldn’t concentrate and always found himself stealing glances at Wonwoo. Mainly because he’d never seen the boy do his own thing. He had only seen Wonwoo angry or annoyed but watching him read books on the floor piqued Mingyu’s curiosity.

Mingyu’s focus on the ceiling broke when Jihoon’s phone rang loudly from the tabletop. Jihoon lunged at it and quickly walked to Mingyu’s bedroom and closed the door. That was odd.

“Hyung, do you mind if I ask you something?” Hansol said, still staring blankly at the ceiling. Mingyu hummed in approval. “If you were invited somewhere and Wonwoo hyung was there, would you go?”

Mingyu held his breath at the question. Maybe a month ago he would’ve denied it, but it was a little different this time. Wonwoo didn’t seem to care about Mingyu at all this semester and Mingyu had a feeling he knew why. Maybe Wonwoo felt bad for Mingyu after Mingyu broke down in front of him last month. Mingyu wished he hadn’t shown the other his pain but considering how Wonwoo’s sabotaging and snarky remarks have stopped, Mingyu decides that Wonwoo just pities him.

“I don’t care, I don’t even talk to him. Why though?” Mingyu responded, his eyes focusing in on a splatter of brownie batter that had splashed onto the ceiling somehow.

“Nothing, just curious,” Hansol said.

They stayed in silence until Jihoon finally came out of the bedroom, his ears slightly red. Mingyu made a mental note to ask him who the call was from after Hansol had left.

“Mingyu, are you coming to the party tomorrow?” Jihoon asked, plopping down on the sofa.

“Well, it’s not really a party but yeah, Soonyoung hyung invited me. Are you?” Mingyu asked looking back at the ceiling.

“Yeah. But Wonwoo’s going to be there you know that right?” Jihoon asked and it finally hit Mingyu why Hansol was so curious. Mingyu chuckled slightly at the thought. Jihoon just looked at him confused.

“It doesn’t affect me as long as we stay out of each other’s business,” Mingyu said with a shrug.

“You guys used to be at each other’s throats. That’s odd.”

“I still hate him. And I’d punch him if I had the chance, but I don’t want to get into trouble.” Mingyu said, sitting up. His back hurt.

“Did something happen between you guys? You guys aren’t as hostile anymore.” Jihoon said, throwing glances at Mingyu. “Both of you have been different since last month.”

The timer on the oven went off and Hansol sighed in relief. He probably felt awkward stuck between their conversation. Mingyu turned to glare at Jihoon who just shrugged and went back to scrolling through his phone.

The smell of the brownies wafted through the air and Mingyu felt it sinking into his pores as Hansol pulled it out of the oven.

“Do we get to have some or is the whole thing for your girlfriend,” Jihoon asked sarcastically and Mingyu shot him another glare conveying to be nicer.

“Of course, I can’t give her the whole thing, or she’ll blame me for giving her diabetes. And Mingyu hyung helped me make it so you guys can have most of it.” Hansol chuckled nervously.

“I was just joking don’t worry,” Jihoon said a teasing smile on his face. 

Mingyu helped the boy cut the brownies into perfect squares and then place them into the box. He sat down next to Jihoon on the sofa as Hansol packed the backpack he brought and started to head out. Mingyu liked Hansol. He was mostly quiet, but his silence and easy-going attitude were his biggest charm. Although Mingyu personally thought his smile was his best part.

After Hansol left Mingyu tried bothering Jihoon but got bored soon after. He had nothing to do all day. _Technically,_ he had two projects, but he was almost done, and he’d finish it up tomorrow morning. He wanted to go out. He missed the blue sky and the green grass. Winter was beautiful but he would do anything right now to go to the city lookout and lay down, staring at the sky.

He finally joined Jihoon in watching whatever anime he was watching on tv and lay down on his lap. Though he wasn’t actually watching.

He wanted change in his life. This was absolutely boring. For his entire life, he had only been studying and studying and studying. But now that he had given up that life to “live for himself” like his mom told him to, he didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t know what he wanted.

* * *

Mingyu clicked submit and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at the clock and realized if he wanted to get ready he had to start now. That is if he still wanted to go. He hadn’t expected the projects to take so long and now he was tired. Everything seemed to annoy him, and he was on edge all day. Maybe he should cancel? He sighed again and opened a text from Joohyun.

**Joo**

>quick, choose a color

>black or red _(7:26 PM)_

**Mingyu**

>red

>why? _(7:28 PM)_

**Joo**

>eyeshadow couldn’t make up my mind.

>you are coming right? I’ll get bored without you :( _(7:28 PM)_

Mingyu stared at his screen and thought for a second before punching in _yes._ Might as well. It would be a change of mind hopefully.

He quickly took a shower and stared at himself in the mirror contemplating whether he should actually style his hair up or down. It wasn’t an actual party, so he decided to leave it down. The other question was whether he should dress up like he does for most parties or if he should settle for a comfortable look. And though he hated to admit it, he wanted to dress like Wonwoo. Wonwoo always looked so comfortable in his never-ending collection of hoodies and sweaters. There was never a day Mingyu didn’t notice the other’s outfit. He threw on a dark green hoodie and a pair of black jeans and decided to call it a day. He sprayed perfume and walked into it before tugging on his sneakers and leaving. Maybe Wonwoo’s outfit would be similar to his own.

* * *

He was wrong. Wonwoo looked nothing like him. Mingyu even considered the possibility of Wonwoo having a devilishly beautiful twin as Mingyu stood at Soonyoung’s doorstep.

Wonwoo had opened up the door and was smiling at someone behind him when he noticed Mingyu and dropped the smile. But Mingyu was looking at him in surprise because there was no way that was Wonwoo. Wonwoo had completely ditched the warm and comfortable look and had opted for a short sleeve black t-shirt with the front tucked into black jeans all accessorized with multiple chains around his neck. Mingyu wasn’t even sure if he’d ever seen Wonwoo’s hair up before let alone without glasses.

His eyes looked dark as he looked Mingyu up and down before leaving the door open to let him in without a word. Mingyu closed the door behind him and found a darkly lit living room filled with people he knew and people he’d never seen before. Music was blasting from the tv as people gave karaoke a chance. He watched as Wonwoo gave a boy on the sofa a smile and settled down next to him.He tore his eyes off Wonwoo to look for Joohyun and Jihoon. Just as he spotted Joohyun talking to Seulgi in the corner of the room, Soonyoung jumped him from behind.

“You made it,” Soonyoung said excitedly, his arm around Mingyu’s shoulder. Mingyu could tell the other was struggling to match his height and broke out a smile at the sight.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Mingyu said, smiling as he noticed Jihoon close behind Soonyoung. He looked wasted already. “I brought beer.”

Soonyoung let out a sigh in relief.

“Thank god. We were just running out.” He said with a smile. Soonyoung let go of Mingyu to help Jihoon gain his balance by holding his waist. “Your friend here seemed to enjoy it pretty well. You can put it in the kitchen though.”

Mingyu nodded and was making his way to the kitchen when Joohyun waved at him excitedly. He gave her a smile before disappearing into the kitchen. The kitchen seemed much quieter, and the only noise was the echoing and vibrations of the loud music. He noticed an assortment of snacks laid around the kitchen island, most of them open and just wrappers. He wasn’t too hungry but maybe he’d come back for that pizza later because it looked tempting.

Mingyu plopped the box of beer bottles on the table and looked around a little. The kitchen was decently big and Mingyu quickly got distracted by the bunches of pictures stuck on the fridge. Most of them were of Soonyoung goofing around and Wonwoo watching him in pure disappointment. But there were a few that made Mingyu pause. Wonwoo was grinning at the camera with a big v sign held to his face and Soonyoung had his arms around Wonwoo’s shoulders, grinning just as much. And the Wonwoo in this picture looked younger, more cheerful. They were in their school uniforms, bangs sticking to their sweaty foreheads. And Mingyu couldn’t tear his eyes away from Wonwoo’s smile. Seeing Wonwoo smile at other people occasionally was nothing compared to this smile. It was much more cheerful and youthful. And the way his nose scrunched. He quickly looked at other pictures before he could feel his ears redden. Another picture had what looked like baby Wonwoo in a sandbox staring at a lollipop stuck in the sand with watery eyes while baby Soonyoung pointed and laughed. Wonwoo’s features really hadn’t changed. Mingyu couldn’t help smiling a bit himself.

A loud screech from the living room distracted him and Mingyu grabbed a bottle of beer and went out to look. A girl was nearly in tears as she pointed to a bug on the balcony door. Joohyun quickly got rid of it and everyone went back to what they were doing. Soonyoung and Jihoon were yelling drunk lyrics into the karaoke mic while three other people danced wildly to the loud music. Wonwoo was sitting on a tall stool near the balcony door now, still laughing with the guy from before.

Mingyu didn’t know where to go or who to talk to. He’d usually stick to Joohyun, but he didn’t want to interrupt the girl who looked like she was finally making progress with her crush. There were a few more people scattered around the room. He could only recognize Hansol, Jisoo, and Minghao. Maybe he should stick to Minghao. The boy didn’t talk a lot and even when he did, he had pretty interesting things to say. And Mingyu knew they had common interests in fashion and photography. Just as he was making his way towards the other a voice sounded behind him.

“You’re Mingyu right?” The voice sounded cheerful and Mingyu turned to find a good-looking man smiling at him. His features were sharp, but he looked friendly in his black turtleneck.

“Yeah, you are..?” Mingyu gripped his beer anxiously, he didn’t know he was in the mood to make new friends.

“Oh sorry, I’m Seokmin. I’ve heard about you, I never thought I’d see you at a party though.” He said a little awkwardly.

“Who told you about me?” Mingyu said, with a slight chuckle.

“No one, I follow your instagram and I think your photography is cool,” Seokmin replied with a grin that made his eyes turn into small crescents. For some reason, the smile put Mingyu at ease.

“Wow, thank you so much,” Mingyu said taking a sip of his beer. It was cold thankfully but not cold enough the numb the awkward silence that followed. _Say something Mingyu._ “Do you want a beer, I just brought refills.”

“Sure,” Seokmin said, his cheeks flushing slightly. He must have already had a few drinks before Mingyu arrived.

“Okay wait here, I’ll go get you one,” Mingyu said with a smile.

Mingyu quickly ran back into the kitchen and grabbed the coldest beer bottle he could find and came back to find Seokmin leaning on the wall, watching the chaos from afar. Mingyu walked over to him and handed him the bottle, leaning back onto the wall next to him.

“So what major are you,” Seokmin asked after taking a big gulp of the beer.

“I switched to photography this semester. I used to study Computer Science. Wasn’t really my thing.” Mingyu said with a shrug. “What about you?”

“Theater. Mostly on the musical side but I like the acting aspect of it as well.”

They watched Soonyoung and Jihoon dance and sing for their lives and Mingyu wondered when the two had become this close. He could have sworn Jihoon was shooting Jihoon down so hard just last week. The silence between Seokmin and him was comfortable and Mingyu didn’t mind chilling with the other.

“Oh, you have something on your face,” Seokmin said and Mingyu looked to find him squinting at Mingyu’s cheek. Maybe the beer had made him drunker than earlier. Seokmin poked and scratched at Mingyu’s cheek. “It’s not. . . coming off.”

“Are you talking about my mole?” Mingyu said with a laugh. Seokmin stepped closer and stared at it. He stroked it a couple of times to confirm.

“I guess it is,” Seokmin said, shrugging and leaning back into the wall. Mingyu shook his head with a smile at how dumbly drunk the boy was. Seokmin quickly got distracted by Soonyoung who was now trying to pick Jihoon up and dance. “Do you think they’re doing it?”

“Doing what,” Mingyu asked, a little distracted. He felt Wonwoo’s eyes on him but resisted the urge to glance over to see if the other was really looking at him. Seokmin’s reply pulled him back into the conversation.

“You know, like fucking.”

Mingyu nearly spat out his beer and looked at Seokmin and then back at the two.

“No way, Jihoon hyung isn’t into guys as far as I know. What the hell even made you think that.” Mingyu asked looking at the drunk boy.

“I saw them barely getting along a few days ago. If anything will push them into being as touchy as they are right now, it is probably sex.” Seokmin paused. “Besides my gaydar is pretty good, you know.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes. Jihoon and Soonyoung probably just became friends over the alcohol.

“Really now. What does your gaydar say about me.” Mingyu said smirking at the shorter boy.

“Hmmm, it tells me two things. You’re not into guys but you’d make an exception for one person.” Seokmin said with a drunk smile on his face. Mingyu didn’t respond. He didn’t want to. But Seokmin persisted he say if he’s right before he said the second thing.

“I don’t know. I’m usually only into girls and I’ve never given guys a chance so who knows, maybe you’re right.” He tried to be as vague as possible.

“See, I told you my gaydar is good,” Seokmin said proudly. Mingyu lightly punched his shoulder to push his pride down a notch.

“Just tell me the second thing,” Mingyu said.

“I know who that one person who you’d fall for is,” Seokmin said, wiggling his eyebrows at Mingyu. Mingyu held his breath. He didn’t know if he actually wanted to hear the second thing anymore. “You are going to fall for. . . me!”

Mingyu burst out laughing. He didn’t know what he was expecting but it definitely wasn’t that. Seokmin started laughing too and held onto Mingyu’s shoulder to support himself.

“Your gaydar sucks,” Mingyu said between chuckles.

He didn’t know how long he spent joking around with Seokmin after that, but he realized how fun the other was. He hadn’t laughed like this all week. They were the same age and if Mingyu could describe the saying ‘they hit it off’ he would describe his evening with Seokmin. He now sat on the floor in front of the couch, Seokmin passed out on his shoulder as he watched an advertisement playing on the television. Mingyu slowly started getting tipsy when Soonyoung stood on the table in front of him and announced that they should gather around for a drinking game. Mingyu quickly glanced at his phone to see the time hit midnight. The people who weren’t already wasted quickly sat around the table. There weren’t too many, but he saw Wonwoo sit down facing him right across the table and Mingyu squinted to see if it was really Wonwoo. It was.

Joohyun sat down next to Mingyu and let out a sigh.

“Mingyu, what do I do.” She said, playing with Mingyu’s hand while she blankly stared at the table.

“What happened,” Mingyu asked, slightly concerned through his drunk demeanor. He looked around as much as he could with a sleeping Seokmin leaning on him and saw that Seulgi was nowhere to be found. “Did you guys fight?”

“Thankfully no. But I like her too much now and I think she’s straight.” She said, frowning.

Mingyu squeezed the girl’s hand to comfort her. He was trying to imagine what that felt like when he realized something.

“Wait, did she say it herself? That she was straight?” Mingyu looked at a pouty Joohyun who just shook her head. “Because one of the books she returned were from the LGBTQ+ aisle.”

“Why the fuck is there an aisle like that.” She pondered out loud when she realized what Mingyu had just implied. “WAIT. What book?”

“I think Smith’s Finger or something. She checked it out right after you returned it.” He said. The name of the book sounded wrong, but his mind was too foggy to think of the right name. Joohyun visibly reddened next to him.

Before he could ask her what the book was about Soonyoung placed down shot glasses in front of everyone.

“You just revived my hope,” Joohyun whispered and hugged Mingyu quickly.

Mingyu chuckled slightly and looked up to find Wonwoo staring right at him. Something in his chest pulled and Mingyu looked away quickly because he didn’t like the look in Wonwoo’s eyes. It looked a lot like jealousy, but it was masked with annoyance. Did he like Joohyun? Or maybe Seokmin? Whatever it was made Mingyu too self-conscious, and he waited for Soonyoung to start.

“Let’s play truth or dare,” Jihoon whined from the end of the table. Soonyoung placed a bottle in the center of the table and spun it.

“Okay, rules are simple. Whoever the bottle lands on gets asked truth or dare, and if you don’t want to answer you take a shot.” Soonyoung said, sitting down next to Jihoon. 

They did seem awfully close, and it was weirder because Jihoon had never mentioned hanging out with Soonyoung. Joohyun seemed to notice it too as she looked at them and raised her eyebrows at Mingyu.

A girl he’d never seen before spun the bottle and a few people cheered as it landed on Jisoo. He opted for truth but drank a shot when Joohyun asked if he was dating Jeonghan. That earned a lot of teasing hoots and giggles. Hansol got dared to kiss Jihoon on the cheek and another boy called Eunwoo confessed to having been in a threesome. Everyone was getting drunker as time went on and Mingyu almost slipped into oblivion when the bottle landed on Wonwoo.

“Truth or dare,” Soonyoung hollered.

Mingyu watched as the boy across from him threw his head back in thought. Mingyu’s tipsy eyes fixated on the sleeves of Wonwoo’s t-shirt which were rolled up to his shoulder. He didn’t bother denying that it was attractive.

“Truth,” Wonwoo said looking at Soonyoung.

“I’ve got a question for you.” Jihoon slurred. He was so wasted; it was embarrassing to watch. He probably wouldn’t even remember this tomorrow. “Why do you hate Mingyu so much.”

Mingyu stilled. His heart started racing and he wasn’t even sure if he was breathing anymore. He never knew the reason behind the hate but now that someone actually asked Wonwoo, Mingyu was scared to his bone.

Wonwoo looked Mingyu in the eye and took a shot. Mingyu felt sick.

“That’s not fair, it isn’t a hard question. You have to tell us.” Soonyoung whined next to Jihoon.

Mingyu wished they would stop; they’re only making it worse.

“I mean, have you looked at him? What’s there not to hate about him.” Wonwoo said.

Mingyu wanted to throw up. He felt his chest and throat burning.

_Please make it stop._

Joohyun squeezed his hand from beside him and Mingyu offered a weak smile. The party was going so well. Just why.

“Can we move on to the next spin?” Mingyu said and it took every ounce of his breath to sound stable. “Let’s stop this.”

“Or what,” Wonwoo said. Mingyu looked at him and there was a kind of anger in Wonwoo’s eyes that kept pushing him on. The whole room was tense at this point.

“Just stop,” Mingyu said, “please.”

“Will you get on your knees and cry again if I don’t?” Wonwoo said.

Mingyu felt his heart stop for a second. Mingyu knew exactly what he was talking about. He didn’t want to believe Wonwoo just said that. Wonwoo really brought up one of the lowest moments in Mingyu’s life to do what? Mock him? Again?

The tension in the room was so thick now. It felt like Mingyu could cut it with a knife if he tried.

“You’re a fucking asshole,” Joohyun said to Wonwoo and Mingyu felt the anger in her voice resonate through the apartment.

“It’s okay,” Mingyu said to Joohyun quietly.

He didn’t want to respond to Wonwoo. He felt like he’d throw up if he looked at him right now. Mingyu sat in silence but he knew he wasn’t breathing properly, and his entire chest was burning and all he could think of was getting out of the apartment.

Instead, he just sat there as people coughed nervously trying to change the mood. He sat there as they spun the bottle a few more times and asked more questions to others. He sat there as his head began to spin and his stomach threatened to throw up.

Everything was too loud but Mingyu couldn’t really hear anything. It was muffled until Mingyu realized he couldn’t take it anymore. He placed Seokmin’s head off his shoulder and onto the couch they were leaning on. He stood up and everyone looked at him nervously.

“Where’s your bathroom?” Mingyu asked looking at Soonyoung. He hadn’t even realized Jihoon had passed out on Soonyoung’s lap.

“It’s right in the middle of those two rooms back there,” Soonyoung said.

Mingyu nodded in thanks and walked towards the general direction Soonyoung had pointed at.

Once he was in the bathroom he collapsed on the floor and started breathing heavily, his eyes burning. He didn’t even know if he closed the door. Mingyu closed his eyes and winced as nausea hit again. The cold bathroom tiles bit into his skin as he crawled over to the toilet and stared at it. His mind was too foggy to process anything as he began throwing up.

He felt a hand rubbing his back and flinched until he heard Joohyun’s voice assure him it was her.

Mingyu felt tears leak his eyes as he gagged and finished throwing up. He tried to blame everything on the alcohol, but he knew it wasn’t just that.

Mingyu was embarrassed. He knew having a mental breakdown in front of Wonwoo last month wasn’t ideal, but he didn’t know the boy hated him so much that he would mock him with it. And it hurt, not knowing what it was that Mingyu had done to receive so much hate from Wonwoo.

He felt Joohyun help wash his face and she led him somewhere and made him lay on what felt like a bed.

“Rest a little. I’ll be in the hall when you want to leave.” She said.

The last thing Mingyu noticed before he passed out was how the blankets smelled like fresh vanilla ice cream.

* * *

Wonwoo knew he fucked up. He knew he had gone too far. And honestly, he didn’t know why he did it. The guilt had overwhelmed him when he had seen Mingyu’s face contort in shock followed by sadness and pain.

The memory of Mingyu on his knees, sobbing had ingrained in his brain and he felt like a complete asshole to use it to kick Mingyu down lower.

Last month Wonwoo had been helping close up Jisoo’s coffee shop late at night when Mingyu had begged Wonwoo to let him in to look for something.

 _Wonwoo still remembers the panicked look on Mingyu’s face. His hair was messy as if he spent hours running his hands through it and he was panting with red cheeks almost as if he had been running for a while. Mingyu didn’t even have a coat on despite the freezing wind._

_After Wonwoo let him in with a frown, Mingyu went over to a table and frantically searched under the chairs and tables and practically everywhere around it._

_“Did you see a USB anywhere here since yesterday?” Mingyu said, not bothering to look up at Wonwoo._

_“No,” Wonwoo said with a shrug._

_“Is there a lost and found here, where I can look?” Mingyu was on his knees, crouching to look under another table now._

_“This is a coffee shop, the only lost and found here is the trash.” Wonwoo shrugged._

_He only offered to help Jisoo hyung with his shop because he was promised that nobody would be there. But now he had to deal with that last person he wanted to talk to._

_“Please, I’ll do anything can you please help me find it?” Mingyu said and Wonwoo really didn’t know how to reply._

_Seeing Mingyu on his knees begging for help threw off Wonwoo’s perception of the egoistical asshole he thought Mingyu was._

_“Did you throw it in the trash by accident or something? Please, it’s really important. I’ll fail my entire class if I don’t find it.” Mingyu said and his voice was so desperate and close to breaking._

_“Maybe I did throw it in the trash,” Wonwoo said even though he knew very well he hadn’t. He hadn’t even been here yesterday, and he hadn’t swept the floor yet. But messing with the younger boy made Wonwoo feel something._

_“Is it still here? Do you think I can check it and get it?” Mingyu said, slightly hopeful._

_Wonwoo started laughing lightly. Was Mingyu really that desperate? Wonwoo was having fun._

_“I mean you can go through the trash if you want but yesterday’s trash was already taken away and I doubt it’s in today’s trash.” Wonwoo honestly didn’t care about Mingyu finding it. He probably deserved to fail the class anyway._

_“So, can I check?”_

_“Sure, maybe you should check the area dumpster too and see if you can find it. Dumpster dive for it if you will.” Wonwoo knew he was taking it a little too far, but he couldn’t stop. “While you’re at it, see if you can find a black pencil. I lost it when I was 18.” Wonwoo said, almost mockingly, and watched the expression on the boy’s face drop as he realized Wonwoo was toying with him and that Wonwoo really had no idea where his USB was._

_Mingyu didn’t reply and sunk to the floor with his head down. Wonwoo wasn’t sure what to do now. He’d expected Mingyu to get angry and ruffled but what he got was silence. And then he heard a few sniffles. Was he crying? He saw a few teardrops fall to the ground as Mingyu slowly started crying. When Mingyu looked up, Wonwoo felt embarrassed._

_Mingyu’s expression wasn’t just sadness. No, there was anger, desperation and so much more._

_“I know how much fun you’re having right now,” Mingyu said through angry breaths, and Wonwoo slightly reddened. “I really must look pathetic to you.”_

_Wonwoo couldn’t move. The sight of Mingyu on his knees, tears streaming down his angry red eyes was just too much. The sight of Mingyu having a mental breakdown was too much. Mingyu was sobbing at this point and Wonwoo watched as the boy wiped his tears that didn’t stop coming out._

_“Hey, it’s just one class. You can retake it or talk to the professor or something.” Wonwoo said in an attempt to get the boy to calm down. But he really didn’t know what to say that would take back his own cocky words earlier._

_“Just one class.” Mingyu scoffed. He got up and Wonwoo slightly flinched as the boy stood up to his full height. “Since this is all just fun to you, please don’t act like you care. It’s annoying.”_

_Wonwoo was speechless once again. He felt guilty. He hadn’t known Mingyu was so close to a breakdown._

_“I can ask the people from yesterday if–” Wonwoo offered but Mingyu interrupted him, wiping his tears, as he walked to the door with an empty expression._

_“Don’t waste my time,” Mingyu said and walked into the freezing night._

Wonwoo closed the door as Minghao left, dragging a wasted Seokmin on his back. That should be the last of them. Wonwoo went back inside and nearly groaned at the mess that the apartment was. He’d clean it tomorrow. Joohyun was sleeping on the couch and Wonwoo figured she was the only one left. Soonyoung was nowhere to be seen so he assumed he passed out in his room. He figured he’d sleep too and made his way to his room, turning the lights off on the way.

He stopped in his steps as he looked at his bed and saw Mingyu passed out on it. He thought Mingyu had left with Jihoon when he couldn’t find either of them. But Mingyu was sleeping on his bed and Wonwoo had no idea what to do. He couldn’t sleep on the couch because Joohyun– Oh. That’s why Joohyun was still here. And Wonwoo definitely did not want to sleep with Soonyoung’s loud ass. Wonwoo decided to just work on an editing project until the sun rose.

He walked over to the bed and reached across Mingyu to grab his laptop. He looked down and Mingyu was breathing peacefully. No sign of the pain on his face from earlier. No matter what angle Wonwoo looked at Mingyu from, the boy was insanely handsome. Maybe that’s why Wonwoo believed all the stories about Mingyu.

Wonwoo looked away, embarrassed from staring at the sleeping boy, and sunk down on the chair in front of his desk. He wore his glasses and got to work.

Occasionally he’d glance at Mingyu and try to understand why he felt such immense guilt. And why he was so rude to Mingyu. Technically, Mingyu hadn’t done anything to Wonwoo. So, why was seeing him laugh with Seokmin so _annoying?_

Wonwoo was completely immersed in his laptop when he heard Mingyu’s voice. Wonwoo flinched slightly.

“What are you doing here,” Mingyu said and Wonwoo looked to find him sitting up on Wonwoo’s bed.

“I–” Wonwoo started, his voice coarse. “This is my room.”

Mingyu looked around and looked slightly annoyed. Wonwoo wanted to apologize. He had to. He was in the wrong here. Before he could say anything Mingyu got up and started walking out the door.

“Wait,” Wonwoo said scrambling onto his feet, standing up. Mingyu stopped for a second and looked back at Wonwoo. And just like that Wonwoo had no idea what to say again. “Listen–” Wonwoo started.

“Don’t talk to me,” Mingyu said sternly and slammed the door on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a little hard to write. but thank you guys for all the comments, they really motivate me <3


	3. red converse

Mingyu hadn’t slept ever since he left Soonyoung’s, well Wonwoo’s, apartment last night. And he was facing the consequences as he sat down, his backpack in his lap.

Luckily neither Wonwoo nor Soonyoung were there so other than the girl at the far end of the table, he had the whole table to himself. Mingyu noticed Jeonghan in front of the class, arranging stacks of paper and files. Sleep was dragging at Mingyu’s eyelids and he put his head down on the table to close his eyes for a while before class started.

He didn’t feel like talking to anyone today. Jihoon had called him multiple times but Mingyu had decided he’d just text him later. Joohyun was currently sleeping at Mingyu’s apartment. She really had stayed till Mingyu decided to leave Wonwoo’s apartment and then crashed on Mingyu’s bed. Mingyu hadn’t felt sleepy anyway. But he sure did now and him slowly going to sleep as the class talked around him was proof of it.

“Uhm,” a voice woke him up and Mingyu didn’t even bother looking up to find Wonwoo standing there.

Mingyu got up and moved out of the way to let Wonwoo to his seat. The stark light from the sun hurt Mingyu’s eyes as he winced. Not only did his head throb, but he felt his body burning up and he just wanted to go home and fall asleep. Wonwoo sitting right next to him didn’t make anything better. Jeonghan cleared his throat from the front of the class, and everyone quieted down. Mingyu could feel Wonwoo glancing at him from the side but he felt so numb to the attention.

“Professor Kim spoke to you guys last Friday about the group project that you can work on today. I’ll be assigning your partners.” He said with a smile.

Mingyu nearly groaned. He knew Jeonghan would be lazy to actually put people together and would just group them by the person they were sitting next to.

“After you’re done brainstorming with your partner you have to meet with another pair and make sure you don’t have the same locations for where you take your pictures.” He continued. Mingyu contemplated ditching the class so that Wonwoo could work with the girl at the end of the table so Mingyu could work with Soonyoung when he came back. “Your partner will be whoever is sitting right next to you. You can get to work.”

Mingyu felt Wonwoo tense up beside him and he almost rolled his eyes. He really didn’t understand why Wonwoo was acting so nervous.

“You can select the location,” Mingyu said, his voice hoarse as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Okay, how about the amusement park, there’s always a lot to take pictures of there,” Wonwoo said.

Mingyu saw a text from his sister, and it was a picture of her new shoes and she was showing them off with the biggest smile on her face. He couldn’t help but smile a little at the picture. He missed his sister and his mom, and he’d do anything to hug his mom right now.

“So yes?” Wonwoo asked, and Mingyu finally looked up in his general direction, his smile disappearing. Mingyu had no idea what Wonwoo had said, and he still couldn’t look him in the eyes. Wonwoo seemed to catch on. “The amusement park.”

Mingyu just nodded and looked back down at his phone.

They sat in silence for the longest time as Mingyu texted his sister and then scrolled through instagram. He looked through his followers and followed Seokmin. He wasn’t sure what happened to the wasted boy last night, but he really liked the dynamic they had.

Mingyu coughed a few times, and he felt his head throb with each movement. He wanted to sleep so bad, and his body felt like someone had set it on fire. It was too severe to be a hangover, maybe he had a really bad cold. He put his head down on the table and closed his eyes. Maybe he should sleep. Just for a few minutes.

“Hey, are you okay?” He heard Wonwoo say. Mingyu ignored him but realized soon that he probably wasn’t okay. But there was no way in hell he was going to Wonwoo for anything. Just a few minutes till class ended and he could sleep.

“You look really sick right now, are you sure you don’t need anything?” Wonwoo asked and this time he reached out to touch Mingyu’s forehead.

Mingyu flinched and slapped Wonwoo’s hand away, sitting up.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Mingyu said, finally looking Wonwoo in the eyes.

He instantly regretted looking in those deep eyes because instead of the usual cold stare, there was genuine embarrassment. Mingyu didn’t know why he cared about it but he quickly looked away. Two boys sat down in front of them just in time before Wonwoo could say anything.

“Hey, we just have to confirm locations and make sure we don’t have the same one.” The first boy said.

“Wonwoo, it’s been ages since I talked to you.” The other said. Mingyu barely remembered his name, Jaejoon.

“Yeah, I didn’t know you were in this class.” Wonwoo chuckled nervously from beside him.

“So much has happened man, is it true that you’re bi now?” Jaejoon said annoyingly.

Mingyu paused at that. He hadn’t known that Wonwoo was bisexual. Not that it mattered anyway. There was just silence from Wonwoo.

“Uhm yeah. Anyway–” Wonwoo started.

“That’s so weird dude, I’ve never met anyone that’s bi.” Jaejoon interrupted Wonwoo. Mingyu was starting to get annoyed at his tone and voice in general. It was not helping his headache. “Does that mean you’d date me? You don’t think I’m hot all of a sudd–”

“Bold of you to assume a man would turn bi to like you when you don’t even get straight women,” Mingyu said, glaring at Jaejoon. He sounded like the dumbest person Mingyu had ever met (dumber than Wonwoo.)

“Dude calm down. Are you his boyfriend or something?” Jaejoon said. Mingyu just rolled his eyes.

“Maybe if you thought before you said things, the world would be a better place,” Mingyu said, starting to get more annoyed than usual. He’d never lashed out at anyone like this before. But his head was going to burst any second and hearing this kind of crap made Mingyu want to commit arson.

“You just want Wonwoo to fuck–” Jaejoon started.

“Okay, guys.” Jaejoon’s partner said with an anxious laugh. “We’re going to do our shoot in the campus park. What about you guys?”

Mingyu looked away from Jaejoon, annoyed.

“The amusement park,” Wonwoo said quietly.

“Okay, guys that will be it for today,” Jeonghan said. Wonwoo and Jaejoon’s partner sighed. “On your way out write your location and your partner's name next to your name on this sheet.”

The class quickly crowded in front of the class and Jaejoon glared at Mingyu before walking away. Wonwoo quickly left and Mingyu could’ve been wrong but he noticed Wonwoo’s shoulders slightly trembling.

Mingyu leaned back and sighed before getting up. The class was nearly empty now. He headed to the front and nodded at Jeonghan before writing down Wonwoo’s name next to his own.

“Mingyu you idiot, can’t you pick up?” Jihoon said from the door and Mingyu waved goodbye at Jeonghan before going to Jihoon.

“Why, what happened?” Mingyu said, putting his arms around Jihoon’s shoulders as they walked.

“Okay before I tell you I want to say sorry,” Jihoon said, stopping abruptly.

“For what?” Mingyu said, looking down at the boy.

“For asking Wonwoo that last night,” Jihoon said, and he looked genuinely sorry.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. Besides, there’s no way you could've known that he’d respond like that.” Mingyu said cracking a gentle smile.

Jihoon thought about it for a second before continuing to walk.

“Okay, where’s Joohyun? She needs to hear this too.” Jihoon said walking quickly.

“She was at my place, I don’t know if she’s still there,” Mingyu said.

Jihoon nodded and they made their way to Mingyu’s apartment.

“I really wanted to take a nap before work so this better be worth it,” Mingyu said, collapsing on his couch.

Joohyun was reading a book, slouched against the couch on the floor. Jihoon sat opposite to both of them.

“Mingyu, I think I know the exact reason Wonwoo hates you,” Jihoon said.

Joohyun looked up at that. Mingyu didn’t know if he cared anymore. He had decided last night that he would ignore Wonwoo until he graduated.

“I was hanging out with Soonyoung this morning,” Jihoon started.

“Wait what is up between you two anyway,” Joohyun asked.

“Not the time,” Jihoon said. “So, we were hanging out and he told me who Wonwoo’s ex-girlfriend is. Any guesses? It’s Jia, your ex.”

Mingyu sat up. Jia was Mingyu’s only girlfriend ever and they had ended on good terms.

“But why would that make him hate me. Jia and I are still friends.” Mingyu said. He was lying when he said he wasn’t intrigued.

“I don’t know. I never liked her, so I maybe she told Wonwoo something bad about you.” Joohyun shrugged, going back to her book.

“Maybe you should ask him,” Jihoon said, earning an incredulous look from both Mingyu and Joohyun. “I’m kidding. I just think you guys should talk it out.”

Mingyu laid back down on the couch, closing his eyes. It would be useless. Besides any respect he had for Wonwoo was gone now. He really had tried to understand why Wonwoo hated him and respected that maybe he just found Mingyu’s existence annoying. But Wonwoo had had no hesitation to bash Mingyu around and make his life hell with zero explanation.

Mingyu had better things to worry about than a self-absorbed idiot like Wonwoo.

* * *

Mingyu barely got any sleep at home because Jihoon would not stop humming a song he was trying to make. And now as he sat at the front desk his eyes kept drooping and he could barely see straight. There were about five people in the library, and he was willing to bet Wonwoo was somewhere sitting on the floor, slouched against a bookshelf. He just wanted his shift to end quickly so he could sleep in peace. Unfortunately for him, he had the closing shift today and the pile of returned books that he had to put back on the shelves wasn’t small.

He groaned and got up, pulling the cart and shoving all the books onto it. He went through stacks and stacks of them, returning them to the shelves, and was on his last couple books when he entered an aisle to find Wonwoo. He was on the floor, slouched exactly like Mingyu had imagined but he was sleeping peacefully. Usually, Mingyu would feel annoyed but he felt nothing. What he did feel annoyed at was the fact that one of the books he had to put back was right next to where Wonwoo was leaning.

He quickly crouched and put the book back. When he tried getting up, he felt the edge of his sweater tug and notice it stuck on Wonwoo’s jacket zipper. Great. Mingyu tried to free the sweater when he heard Wonwoo mumble something and open his eyes. His eyes were puffy behind his glasses and awfully close to Mingyu’s own face for his liking.

He looked like a confused puppy and stared at Mingyu surprised. Mingyu quickly looked away but he could feel his ears reddening in panic.

“Your zipper,” Mingyu said quietly, trying to explain. He saw Wonwoo look down at his jacket and try to help. Mingyu pulled his hand away when Wonwoo accidentally touched Mingyu’s fingers.

Wonwoo quickly pulled Mingyu’s sweater out of the zipper and Mingyu jumped up, ready to leave.

“Wait,” Wonwoo said from behind him. “Can I talk to you?”

Mingyu just wanted to get out of Wonwoo’s vicinity.

“No,” Mingyu said and pushed the cart out of the aisle.

Wonwoo had never bothered listening to Mingyu so he didn’t see a reason he should. He would gain nothing out of being the bigger person.

He returned to his seat and looked around. The students from earlier had left and there was only an hour left till his shift ended. He fiddled with his own fingers as he rested his head on the counter. His eyes were still threatening to fall asleep but all he could think about was how surprisingly warm Wonwoo’s fingers had felt in the second that they had touched Mingyu.

Mingyu didn’t even know when he fell asleep.

* * *

When he woke up, it was about half an hour past closing time. Mingyu quickly got up, surprised he’d actually slept for that long. He checked around the library for anyone and found it empty. Good. Now he could go home and sleep without any interruption. He grabbed his bag and jacket, shutting off all the lights. He walked out into the cold air, locking the library door behind him, but was met with a surprise. Wonwoo was sitting on the stairs outside the library shuddering in the cold.

He looked back as he heard Mingyu locking the door and quickly got up. Mingyu almost groaned. He didn’t want to have a conversation right now.

“I really need to talk to you,” Wonwoo said. Mingyu walked down the stairs ignoring him. He felt a tinge of guilt because he didn’t know how long the other had been waiting in the cold despite it being 10:30. He didn’t hear Wonwoo follow him down the stairs.

“Mingyu,” Wonwoo said and Mingyu halted in his steps.

That’s the first time Wonwoo had ever said his name. It made Mingyu’s heart jump a little. A lot actually. He turned around and found Wonwoo standing at the top of the stairs looking like the world was going to end. And then he did the last thing Mingyu had ever expected.

Wonwoo dropped down onto his knees, his head hung low.

“Please listen to me,” he said, his voice low and quiet.

Mingyu didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He would usually have seen it as Wonwoo’s way of mocking him, but his voice was so raw. Mingyu didn’t like seeing anyone on their knees.

“Get up,” Mingyu said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jeez, you’re so dramatic.”

It was true, Mingyu didn’t want to listen to Wonwoo the same way he hadn’t. But he couldn’t do it. After all this, he still wanted to give Wonwoo a chance. He still wanted to be friends with him. And he hated himself for it. Besides, if he got over this soon, he wouldn’t have to be in a bad mood for who knows how long.

“If you can say everything by the time my bus comes, you can follow me,” Mingyu said, turning around and starting to walk to the bus stop.

He heard Wonwoo shuffle down the stairs and scurry behind him. Mingyu smiled a little. Wonwoo caught up with him and Mingyu didn’t look.

“First, thank you for this morning. The Jaejoon thing.” Wonwoo started.

“I didn’t do that for you, he was just an asshole and my head was hurting,” Mingyu said, looking up at the sky.

“Oh,” he replied and paused. “You looked sick this morning, are you okay now?”

“Just get on with it,” Mingyu said rolling his eyes.

The short walk to the bus stop ended and they stopped. Mingyu looked down at Wonwoo’s shoes, not knowing where to look. He never expected Wonwoo to be the type to wear red converse. Mingyu really wanted to know where Wonwoo shopped.

Wonwoo turned Mingyu to look him in the eye and the action surprised Mingyu. The dimly lit bus stop illuminated Wonwoo’s face and Mingyu could see the nervousness in Wonwoo’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Wonwoo said.

“For what.” Mingyu wanted to look away but he couldn’t. He felt his heartbeat pick up but he couldn’t stop looking at Wonwoo.

“A lot of things,” Wonwoo rubbed the back of his necked and smiled to break the tension. Mingyu kept looking. “I know I shouldn’t have said what I said yesterday. And I’m not going to make excuses that I was drunk. I shouldn’t have even done it the first time. I was an asshole and I really hope you can forgive me for that.”

Mingyu stayed quiet, Wonwoo really seemed genuine.

“Did I ever hurt you before?” Mingyu asked, his voice quiet.

“What?” Wonwoo looked at him, eyes wide in confusion.

“Why do you hate me so much? I tried thinking about it for almost a year and a half now, but I have no idea,” Mingyu said. It was hard to say because he didn’t want to hurt himself further. He was honestly scared.

He stayed silent for a while. Wonwoo’s cheeks were reddening and Mingyu couldn’t tell if it was the cold or pure embarrassment.

“Saying it out loud sounds stupid.” Wonwoo started. Mingyu just waited. “I hate people who cheat.”

Mingyu was genuinely confused now.

“Okay, what does that have to do with me?” Mingyu asked, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. Wonwoo tilted his head slightly but there were too many things written on his face and Mingyu couldn’t read it.

“You remember Jia?” Wonwoo asked. Mingyu nodded. When Mingyu didn’t say anything else Wonwoo tilted his head further. “You cheated on her right?”

Mingyu laughed out loud this time, an incredulous look on his face.

“Who told you that? We broke up because we didn’t click and didn’t have a lot in common. We’re still friends though.”

“But— Wait. I was helping her get over you cheating on her and that’s how we started dating.” Wonwoo said.

“She told you I cheated on her?” Mingyu asked, surprised. Wonwoo nodded.

Jia and Mingyu weren’t fit for each other at all, and he knew how much it annoyed Jia that he didn’t love her. But he didn’t know she’d badmouth him for it. He had to ask Jia about it later, what if she had her own reasons? But that means Wonwoo–

“Let me get this straight. You _heard_ something bad about me and you assumed it to be true and _that’s_ why you hate me?” Mingyu asked. He felt slightly annoyed. Wonwoo looked at his shoes, genuinely surprised and embarrassed. “And you thought that I deserved all this hate because of all these lies, which by the way had nothing to do with you. I think you’re apologizing for the wrong thing.”

“I’m– I don’t even know what to say,” Wonwoo said, and Mingyu could tell that the blush on his face was not the cold. “I really was a bitch to you.”

“Yes,” Mingyu said.

“And I made your life hell,” Wonwoo continued.

“Yes.”

“And I didn’t hear your side of the story.”

“Yes.”

“So, I hated you for no reason?” Wonwoo asked, trying to understand.

“Yes,” Mingyu said and while he felt annoyed, he wanted to laugh at how confused Wonwoo looked. He’d never seen the boy so lost before.

“Would it be too dramatic if I got on my knees and begged for forgiveness?” Wonwoo asked looking up at Mingyu with an awkward smile sketched on his face. Mingyu chuckled slightly.

“Yes,” Mingyu said again. He knew he could get angry and get back at Wonwoo for it but he really didn’t want any bad blood between them. There was still that part of him that wanted to be friends with the senior.

“Can I make it up to you? It will be a lot though.” Wonwoo asked, a hopeful smile on his face. Both of them glanced at the bus coming down the road, headlights glaring.

“Yes,” Mingyu said, the bus rolling to a stop next to him.

Mingyu gestured toward the bus and climbed up the steps into it when he heard Wonwoo behind him.

“Wait, do you forgive me?” Wonwoo asked, looking forward to another yes.

Mingyu flashed Wonwoo a smile.

“I’ll think about it,” Mingyu said and the doors closed behind him.

He found a seat on the mostly empty bus and it started moving. He turned to look at Wonwoo outside at the bus stop once the bus was far enough and saw Wonwoo smiling, rubbing the back of his neck while idly kicking a rock.

He knew Wonwoo was being genuine with his apology, and that he would eventually forgive him, but he could also have fun for a while. Maybe he’d make Wonwoo buy him a new wardrobe of clothes. Maybe he’d force Wonwoo to be his friend.

But as he leaned his head back on the seat, he felt it. He felt the heaviness lift in his heart and felt like he breathed properly after so long.

The only problem was, he couldn’t stop thinking about how good Wonwoo’s smile looked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had some free time so I pumped another chapter out. commenters, I love you <3

**Author's Note:**

> promising myself I'll be consistent with uploads and sorry if the English is a little wack :(


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